If I could pick this up for about $2500 to $3000, would it still be the PJ to get? It would fit my room well at the moment. Is it getting too long in the tooth?

Thanks,

bdbaba

Make no mistake, the Sharp is still one of the best performing projectors on the market and if it were not for Sharp's apparent disinterest in the home theatre market, you would see the PJ being pushed hard at very high prices.

Make no mistake, the Sharp is still one of the best performing projectors on the market and if it were not for Sharp's apparent disinterest in the home theatre market, you would see the PJ being pushed hard at very high prices.

Woohoo! I found an open-box 20000 for sale and picked it up. 15 hours on the bulb. Thanks to tassop I got the new firmware. (Came with 1.0.9) Thanks to everyone on this forum the upgrade went smoothly. I can't wait to get this thing home. (It's still at work. I'm a Net Admin so that's where my tools are.)

The image this thing projects looks stunnung. (I viewed about 20 min. in a non light-controlled conference room. No audio) It has much better black levels than my 2002-era Runco CL-700. It's also quieter, I think. (I'll check with an SPL meter later.)

Woohoo! I found an open-box 20000 for sale and picked it up. 15 hours on the bulb. Thanks to tassop I got the new firmware. (Came with 1.0.9) Thanks to everyone on this forum the upgrade went smoothly. I can't wait to get this thing home. (It's still at work. I'm a Net Admin so that's where my tools are.)

The image this thing projects looks stunnung. (I viewed about 20 min. in a non light-controlled conference room. No audio) It has much better black levels than my 2002-era Runco CL-700. It's also quieter, I think. (I'll check with an SPL meter later.)

Now to see if I can force-feed it 24P when I get it home.

You will find that it throws a beautiful image and I dont know why everyone says that this thing is horrendously loud, in low lamp mode it isnt, yes you hear the fan but its not an annoying buzz like some of the other projectors that I have had, this thing can seriously put out some lumens in hi lamp mode but obviously the fan noise increases.

Woohoo! I found an open-box 20000 for sale and picked it up. 15 hours on the bulb. Thanks to tassop I got the new firmware. (Came with 1.0.9) Thanks to everyone on this forum the upgrade went smoothly. I can't wait to get this thing home. (It's still at work. I'm a Net Admin so that's where my tools are.)

The image this thing projects looks stunnung. (I viewed about 20 min. in a non light-controlled conference room. No audio) It has much better black levels than my 2002-era Runco CL-700. It's also quieter, I think. (I'll check with an SPL meter later.)

Now to see if I can force-feed it 24P when I get it home.

Welcome to the club! The Sharp 20k is still state of the art in terms of picture quality.

You will find that it throws a beautiful image and I dont know why everyone says that this thing is horrendously loud, in low lamp mode it isnt, yes you hear the fan but its not an annoying buzz like some of the other projectors that I have had, this thing can seriously put out some lumens in hi lamp mode but obviously the fan noise increases.

I followed your link on your signature......is that your 2.35:1 setup? If so, can you tell me whether you noticed much reduction in brightness when going from 16.9 to 2.35:1? Also, which anamorphic lens did you settle on?

Apologies for all the questions, I am looking at doing 2.35:1 at the moment myself.

I followed your link on your signature......is that your 2.35:1 setup? If so, can you tell me whether you noticed much reduction in brightness when going from 16.9 to 2.35:1? Also, which anamorphic lens did you settle on?

Apologies for all the questions, I am looking at doing 2.35:1 at the moment myself.

No problem,yes that I am running a 2:35:1 setup and have been for about 3 years now. To be honest Its been so long that I really cant remember the brightness comparison with regard to the difference between the two especially since I leave the lens in place all the time. I do have a motorized Cineslide transport and when I move the lens in and out of the light path I really cant say that there is any real difference with regard to brightness or sharpness but then again the fact that Im not seeing any obvious or appreciable differnces could be due to the lens im using, the ISCO III. With a different lens I might see more of a loss in brightess with that lens in the light path.

Welcome to the club! The Sharp 20k is still state of the art in terms of picture quality.

I prefer the Marantz 11S2 over the Sharp although it is more $$$, the sharpness, organic image and hi ansi contrast (1000:1 with new lens coating)of the Marantz is the trademark of their vp line. Since I did have the Sharp for a while IMO it is very similar in image quality to the Marantz 11s1 which I also had for some time. The Sharp with its cms and optics is still a great find even with the new crop of 1080p projectors.

Please post your results! Has it ever been definitively confirmed that the Z20K
actually displays at (or a multiple of) a multiple of 24fps, or does it simply accept 24p and convert the scan rate to 60p?

No problem,yes that I am running a 2:35:1 setup and have been for about 3 years now. To be honest Its been so long that I really cant remember the brightness comparison with regard to the difference between the two especially since I leave the lens in place all the time. I do have a motorized Cineslide transport and when I move the lens in and out of the light path I really cant say that there is any real difference with regard to brightness or sharpness but then again the fact that Im not seeing any obvious or appreciable differnces could be due to the lens im using, the ISCO III. With a different lens I might see more of a loss in brightess with that lens in the light path.

That's encouraging to hear. I guess when using anamorphic the PJ will use 100% of the DLP chip but 2.35:1 movies on 16x9 screens will use about 2/3rds. This would also help to give sufficient light over a bigger area.

Please post your results! Has it ever been definitively confirmed that the Z20K
actually displays at (or a multiple of) a multiple of 24fps, or does it simply accept 24p and convert the scan rate to 60p?

Either way though, you're going to love your new pj!

I'm pretty sure it is not converted to 60p based on what I have been able to find out. I can't confirm whether it is 24 or 48 hz, however, I did see a discussion somewhere speculating that it may be 48 hz.

I'm pretty sure it is not converted to 60p based on what I have been able to find out. I can't confirm whether it is 24 or 48 hz, however, I did see a discussion somewhere speculating that it may be 48 hz.

I, too, heard that it runs @ 48 Hz.

BTW, I have a CIH setup. I used to have a Panamorph U85 (VC lens). I sold it and bought a HTB lens (HE). I knew the VC wouldn't work with my throw distance, but wanted to see if the PQ was better. It was. And this was with my Runco CL-700, which is a "Graychip 1" 720 DLP with no digital inputs.

My screen was a 92" 16x9 Goo Systems CRT White (80x45). I had enough paint left over to make it 108"x45" 2.40.

The picture with the HTB lens has some CA, mostly on the right side. I see it with test patterns, but I don't notice it with movies. I DO notice the much bigger picture.

The Runco and Sharp have matching throw distances so all I have to do is switch the mount (and replace the component cable with an HDMI) and I should be good to go.

When I save my pennies (a lot of them) I wil upgrade the lens to an ISCO III.

I'm pretty sure it is not converted to 60p based on what I have been able to find out. I can't confirm whether it is 24 or 48 hz, however, I did see a discussion somewhere speculating that it may be 48 hz.

A read of this thread does not answer the question definitively. If anything, it suggests that it probably is not displaying @ 24/48/etc. Apparently, there are judder tests that can be run from an HTPC. It would be great if someone would confirm this once and for all.

BTW, I have a CIH setup. I used to have a Panamorph U85 (VC lens). I sold it and bought a HTB lens (HE). I knew the VC wouldn't work with my throw distance, but wanted to see if the PQ was better. It was. And this was with my Runco CL-700, which is a "Graychip 1" 720 DLP with no digital inputs.

My screen was a 92" 16x9 Goo Systems CRT White (80x45). I had enough paint left over to make it 108"x45" 2.40.

The picture with the HTB lens has some CA, mostly on the right side. I see it with test patterns, but I don't notice it with movies. I DO notice the much bigger picture.

The Runco and Sharp have matching throw distances so all I have to do is switch the mount (and replace the component cable with an HDMI) and I should be good to go.

When I save my pennies (a lot of them) I wil upgrade the lens to an ISCO III.

I use a Crystalio II for scaling and switching.

Thanks for the info. I understand some people use a curved screen to tackle the CA issue, but I guess each setup could differ anyway.

I've had the Sharp 20K for over 2+ years now and applied the 24p firmware update the minute it became available. After comparing 24p against 60p input I was always skeptical of the claim that the Sharp output at some multiple of 24 I never could detect any difference in output when comparing them especially true when observing scrolling credits looked the same (stuttering/juddering) regardless of whether or not it was 24p or 60p input.

Recently purchased a JVC RS20 to try Having lived with it for a couple of weeks now I am more convinced than ever that the Sharp is NOT outputting 24p input at some multiple of 24 With the RS20 the difference between 24p and 60p input is easily noticeable with the right source material again, especially with scrolling end credits which are silky smooth with 24p input and with 60p input look like they did on the Sharp regardless of whether or not it was fed 24p or 60p.

IMO the firmware only addressed the output issues the Sharp had with 24p input prior to the patch but still outputs it at 60p.

That's encouraging to hear. I guess when using anamorphic the PJ will use 100% of the DLP chip but 2.35:1 movies on 16x9 screens will use about 2/3rds. This would also help to give sufficient light over a bigger area.

BTW, what do you use to do the anamorphic vertical stretch?

I use the vertical stretch mode in my Anthem D2 preamp I also sometimes use the strech mode in the 11S2 for comparison

I have Sharp 20000 and C2 too: what's the fastest way to do vertical strech for 2.35 ? I still haven't anamorphic lens but I'm planning to buy one. I tried v-strech for test but it's a quite long procedure: first I have to enter "output" menu then "screen shape" and choose "2.35:1" ( this procedure can't be saved in otuput profile ); second, I have to recall a previously saved "video" profile with the right aspect ratio ( the one of the film ).
Is there a way to speed up things ?

PS: what do you think about Prismasonic 5000R anamorphic lens ? does it work fine with the Sharp ?

After its initial release, Sharp made a firmware update available that allowed the projector to accept 1080p/24 input, which it would output at 1080p/48. I am not particularly sensitive to the judder artifact that 1080p/60 supposedly induces so I cannot evaluate its success at eliminating it. However, the update did resolve some bugs, and the 480i processing seems improved insofar as prior to the update the XV-Z20000 did not pass the film detail test on the Silicon Optics Benchmark DVD. This firmware update is thus a valuable addition for this reason alone.

I have Sharp 20000 and C2 too: what's the fastest way to do vertical strech for 2.35 ? I still haven't anamorphic lens but I'm planning to buy one. I tried v-strech for test but it's a quite long procedure: first I have to enter "output" menu then "screen shape" and choose "2.35:1" ( this procedure can't be saved in otuput profile ); second, I have to recall a previously saved "video" profile with the right aspect ratio ( the one of the film ).
Is there a way to speed up things ?

thank you.

I am looking into programming a macro (in the C2) for this. I'll keep you posted on my progress. I need it to make input switching easier to control from my Harmony 890. At the moment I don't have an answer for you.

Quote:

PS: what do you think about Prismasonic 5000R anamorphic lens ? does it work fine with the Sharp ?

I haven't seen one in person, but I'm sure it's a step up from the HTB I'm using. The nice feature on it is the ability to cancel the stretch without moving the lens.

IMHO the food chain for lenses is (bottom to top);

Two-prism lenses (HTB, Aussimorphic)

Multi-prism lenses (Prismasonic, Panamorph)

Spherical lenses (ISCO, Schneider)

You pretty much get what you pay for in optics. I have no complaints about my HTB because it performs as advertised. When I can afford better I'll trade up.

Hi
I know this is an old thread, but could someone please email me the latest firmware for the xv-z20000. I must be using an old version as I do not have the 24p feature and just thought the projector couldn't handle it until I came accross this thread.

Well, I've got the projector mounted in the theater, and here's what I have to say about 24P;

At least the screen doesn't flash white anymore.

Even though I haven't seen a 5:5 display I'm convinced the Sharp just telecines the 24P to 60P. The judder is still there.

Strangely, it really doesn't like 24P from my Crystalio II. I see tons of judder. I've sent it 24P from my Denon 1600 DVD player (480i/60 SDI -> Crystalio -> 1080p/24 -> PJ), Toshiba HD-A3 (1080i/60 -> Crystalio -> 1080p/24 -> PJ) and Sony BDP-S550 (1080p/24 -> Crystalio -> PJ). I hooked the 550 directly to the PJ (bypassing the scaler) and watched a little. I didn't notice the judder so much, but I must go back and watch the same scenes just to be sure.

Other than that 24p issue I am very happy. This thing throws quite a lovely picture, and I haven't even calibrated it yet. (No spare time.)

Good source material is quite spectacular, and the blacks are much better than on my old Runco.

I have Sharp 20000 and C2 too: what's the fastest way to do vertical strech for 2.35 ? I still haven't anamorphic lens but I'm planning to buy one. I tried v-strech for test but it's a quite long procedure: first I have to enter "output" menu then "screen shape" and choose "2.35:1" ( this procedure can't be saved in otuput profile ); second, I have to recall a previously saved "video" profile with the right aspect ratio ( the one of the film ).
Is there a way to speed up things ?

PS: what do you think about Prismasonic 5000R anamorphic lens ? does it work fine with the Sharp ?

thank you.

The Sharp work well with the Prismasonic 5000R. I've been using it for 9 month with great satisfaction.